Marcus Wong (the small one) just sent me a very funny message.
Dearest rachel, as we all know, the following friday is one of our saddest days. So... On sat, can we have games day as well as pot-luck? Then, we can go for dinner as a cell to a classy place(: we WILL be SHAMELESS. JUST TO ENTERTAIN YOU!(: - Marcus(:

that made me smile a lot. =) 
i was searching for some photos on my laptop and i came across some of our old cell photos - actually, they aren't very old, just 2 or 3 years - but my gosh! the physical growth has been crazy, well, definitely secondary to their emotional/spiritual growth. but they made me smile a lot. this cell makes me smile a lot.

so i've more or less passed out my little farewell/all-the-best notes to the students, having written 75 of them (and a few more not done yet! hahah) over the past few days. yeah, despite all my complaints about being too free too tired too sian too drained about coming to school everyday, i have, on a whole, still enjoyed myself over the past five months. it's funny how MOE put the Teaching Scholarship interview just this morning, in which i spent majority of the half an hour with the interviewers talking about this experience.

and i'm not sure what i'll do next, but there is still SSL for two weeks. and maybe to Mongolia?! AJ intends to go here. sounds like a good place after all our epic fail plans.

i guess tomorrow i will spam many photos with students since i haven't taken many over the year. so. watch this space. =)

=)

no long reflective post about the past 18 years, but i can safely say the last year has accounted for like more than half of my growth (in every aspect of my life) in total. if that can be mathematically done.

there is this multi-coloured striped Paperchase album that i would've taken a photo of every single page if i could. the words and the photos in it make me speechless, not just because the words are themselves, encouraging and motivating; but because the entire album represents a body of familiar faces, people who've come together to bless me so much; people who do not just belong to my cell, people whom i'm not even responsible for. when my parents ask who gave the album to me, i can only say.. "the church." sounds funny, but it blows my mind away that this church - and by 'church', i don't mean the building - has watched me grow since i was a primary school kid to who i am today. i'm definitely bringing this album whereever i go =)

of course, as it is tradition every year, no birthday is complete without wishing two of the closest people in my life a very happy birthday as well. (though for Chris, it's one day late.)

happy birthday guys. my birthday wouldn't be half as fun or meaningful if i didn't celebrate with you!
 

current mood: loved

[this was written two days ago. all the photos are up on facebook, but i thought these were the ones which were nicer. =) read if you're willing to spare the time for full-size photos to load.]

ten minutes into the day and i feel very touched! 

<3 thank you everyone i am so honoured to have friends like you guys. from the simplest of words to the "can you come down now i'm at the guard house". 

yufang's singing makes me want to cry, it is so amazingly beautiful.

you find it in the strangest places, places you never knew it could be



(and no birthday post would be complete without wishing RYAN THOMASZZZZZZZZZ happy happy happy 17th birthday to you too!)

MusicFeste is over! and this is the post-MF withdrawal symptom thing. i keep looking at the videos over and over again, and the tunes keep playing in my head. 

anyway, BB got 2nd and Best Arrangement (go Gabriel!). and yup, as expected, MR won! 
i wish i knew how to upload videos but when i figure out how, i'll upload the videos. 
it was a mad rush from techrun to training and back for the performance itself. but thank God everything's all over now.

my mum keeps reiterating that we shouldn't have late dinners / shouldn't eat heavy meals past 8pm lest we grow fat BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD DINNER YET because she is still working! i'm hungry hungry hungry.

anyway, i am reunited with my laptop! it is finally fixed after all the delays. yay =D

and to distract myself from hunger, Humanz Photos! 

08A13A, HUMANZ PARTY =D 
(missing Joel, Shu-En and Aileen! =( )

heh i think Esther and i were in class today suffering from post-T'itanic/Orientation blues >.>



this is our wonderful OG =) will write more about it when my keyboard is fixed.